Madison Schott

Madison SchottSep 16, 2026

I won't be at dbt Summit this week, but if you're gonna be there, here are a few things I'd recommend to make the most of the few days: 1. Introduce yourself to as many people as possible As an introvert myself, this is HARD. I literally have to force myself to do this, because every time I do, I'm grateful that I did. Count to 3 and then approach without thinking twice. You never know who you will meet and what opportunities it could lead to, even if it's just a new friend. 2. Take notes that spark ideas My favorite part of conferences are all the ideas that pop into my head on what to write or how to improve current systems/processes. Whenever you have one, write it down so you don't forget and can actually implement it when you're home! 3. Go for a walk outside Vegas is a literal dark hole. Don't stay in those buildings all day or you may just lose your mind and all energy. Go outside (even in the heat) and get some steps in! My favorite thing to do is walk to Urth Cafe and order a matcha boba tea. 4. Visit my friends at Euno 😉 and maybe go to their dinner if you're lucky! ➡️ Will you be attending dbt Summit this year? You'll have to report back on how it's changed since the dbt + Fivetran merger!

Madison SchottSep 14, 2026

Don't get me wrong, I love traveling with my husband and parents more than anything. But there is something about a solo travel experience that I can't explain. It's different. It's a little uncomfortable in the beginning. You're in some place new and have to figure out the language, transportation, car rental, and hotel check-in all on your own. You have the nerves in the pit of your stomach. It's also so freeing. You can aimlessly wonder around a new city and do whatever you want. You don't have to answer to anyone. When I lived abroad in London for a few months, I spent a lot of time alone, just wandering the streets. I often find myself meeting locals, being invited to art galleries where the artist explained their art to me, and having lunch with strangers. I would have never experienced this traveling with someone else. Traveling alone opens you up to new places, people, and experiences. It allows you to see things from your perspective and yours only. If you've never traveled alone, then you probably don't understand the magic I'm talking about, which is why I recommend solo travel to everyone. Start small and work your way up to somewhere truly foreign. You'll discover new things about yourself and open yourself up to a new perspective of the world and people. Here's some photos of my solo travel days in Milan. I treated myself to a fancy dinner of lobster pasta, saw the Last Supper painting, and admired couture garments at Armani/Silos museum. It was a great day!

Madison SchottSep 10, 2026

If you think data analyst roles will look the same in 3 months as they do now, you’re wrong. This is the role that is changing the most (and rapidly) because of AI. Soon, data analysts will be expected to combine their business knowledge with technical skills like orchestration and building end-to-end data pipelines. Data analysts and data engineers will soon merge into one full-stack analytics engineering role, which is why it’s so important to learn data engineering skills now. On September 16th, Astronomer is bringing together industry experts to explore what’s next in data engineering at their Orchestrate Everything online data engineering conference. You’ll hear REAL orchestration stories from data teams at Lyft, Wix, and Ramp, and on the patterns they're using for AI inference, context engineering, MLOps, and AI-native data engineering. Marc Lamberti will help you prep for the official AI Orchestration Airflow certification exam, which you will be able to take with a free certification code ($150 value). This is an awesome step in the right direction to learn the AI and technical skills needed to orchestrate your data pipelines, no matter your data role. Sign up for this free learning experience here: https://lnkd.in/ec7x7GAF